The Waterboys

The Waterboys The Waterboys Lyrics
1.A Girl Called Johnny

I remember johnny - hey!
Johnny come lately
I remember her shoes like a ballerina
A girl called johnny who
Changed her name when she
Discovered her choice was to
Change or to be changed

I remember a girl called johnny
Black as hell and white as a ghost
'don't talk about life or death'
She said 'i've had enough of both'
A girl called johnny who was not scared
They'd have torn her to pieces but
Who would dare?

I remember a girl called johnny
The train came to town, boy she got on it
With no looking back, with not a word
If she said goodbye, well i never heard
But the noise goes on
The noise, the jazz
And the truth is in somebody else's hands
And the house that a girl called johnny built
Is now just ashes and sand


2.December

December is the cruelest month
But this time for once my cheeks are warm
After long years in the monkey-house
I am ready for the storm
Let them throw all their cannonballs
Let all their strongmen come
I'm ready to go anywhere
Through venom, sick and scum!

December isn't always cold
But this year she's mine and i know why
Somewhere a flower has to grow
For every flower that dies
I'm stricken with fever
But my heart is strong as steel
I'm ready to go anywhere!
I can believe, i can feel!

December is a trusted friend
I always recognise her face
It's a plague of fool blown aside
Forever by her soft and silent grace
She is reckless as a mayday
Gentle as a stone
And ready to go anywhere
To carry me back home!

December fell deep in the bleak
Mid-winter time when jesus christ
Howled a baby saviour's howl
A primal truth as pure as ice
And though we crucified him on a cross
And dragged his name from payer to curse
He was able to go anywhere
He was almost one of us!


3.Gala

Gala hangs from the window frame
Dressed in black and white
Her face is colourless
In the moonlight
She turns around and her lips move
But the words just drop away
She leans on the back of a chair
And her arms begin to sway
She and i can hear voices
Talking in the room next door
Saying things we used to say
That we can't believe in any more
We've seen too many castles crumble
Made too many innocent mistakes
Who could have known that one house
Could hold so much heartbreak?

And then the clockbell rings
The wind blows in -
Gala makes for the door.
Her eyes blaze
And her hands are shaking
She opens her mouth and roars!
Gala doesn't want, gala doesn't need
She claws at her face
With her nails till it bleeds
She runs down the stairs
In her poor bare-feet
She's too woman to cry or go down on her knees
Then her mother is there
And her voice is soft
She pulls gala close
She soothes gala's cuts
And gently chides
And gala knows...

That gala shouldn't worry
She needn't be afraid
Because there are sailors on the sea tonight
In ships that god made
Look! they cast out the line
With a 'heave two-three-four'
And they sing as they pull
Our lost souls aboard


4.It Should Have Been You

Can i believe my ears?
Is this really you?
Pacing the floor with one eye on the door
Watching the winners go through
Why do you hang back now?
Why d'you hesitate?
You fires don't burn
For he who waits

Out of all of the people
That i ever knew
If one should have made it
It should have been you!

I know who i'm looking for
But i don't believe my eyes
The sight of you with your head hung low
Is a sick, sad suprise
Why do you hang back now?
Why d'you hesitate?
How dare you throw it all away then tell me
Aw man it must be fate

Out of all of the people
That i ever knew
There had to one i could believe in
And it should have been you!

A gift that dies is a tragic thing
And it happens all the time
But a gift that's wasted, thrown to hell is the
Worst of stupid crimes!
I saw you hang back now!
I watched you hesitate!
You're a well respected man, but bullshit!
You could've been great!

Out of all the people
I ever knew
There should have been one
And it should have been you!

I spent my whole life
Looking for someone like you!


5.I Will Not Follow

You say that you will carry the torch
You say that you will beat the winning drum
You'll be there when the saints roll in
With a bat made of rubber, half made out of tin
How many times does the snake crawl out of its skin?
You change your spots
But i will not...

You say you'll put your trust in that old american flag
You say there is still no place like home
That you'll still go to war when your papers come
Surrender your nerve to a gatling gun
Come back home mate
Tell everyone you'll be happy with the time that you've got
But i will not...

I will not follow!
I will not follow!
I will not follow

You say that you'll wear the colours, blue and grey
You say you'll wear the colours, black and red
You wear whichever colour shines most, bright so
You can shine like blake's eternal tiger in the night
You say that you will carry the torch
You say that you will beat the winning drum
You say that there is still no place like home
No place like home, sweet home
You say that everyone's gotta change their spots
But i will not...
No, i will not

I will not follow!
I will not follow!
I will not follow!
I will not follow!
No!


6.Savage Earth Heart

Ooooh!
...let me see the savage
I want to see the savage coming
Crashing through your face
I want to be there
When the savage comes
I want to be there
When the savage comes
When your savage earth heart
Cuts through

I wanna be a witness
Or a victim to your spell
Crackling in lightening
Dressed in shadows
Red like a carousel

I want to be there
When the savage comes
I want to be there
When the savage comes
When your savage earth heart
...cuts through

Will you lay all of your
Deepest wildest secrets bare?
Will you let all of those
Rumbling old gods take rage?
I want to be there
When the savage comes
I want to be there
When the savage comes
When your savage earth heart
Cuts through!

Then i was taken smoothly
By the vulture of the soul
That hideous strength
That numbs the tongue
And he led me like a cinder
Through the fields of hell
To doubt my friends and to hate myself
But when my savage earth heart
...cuts through
When my savage earth heart
Cuts through
Then my savage earth heart
...cuts through
And the culture of the soul laid waste


7.The Girl In The Swing

Do you see them coming through fields of snow?
Do you see them riding through fields of snow?
One rides for a woman who has no name
One rides for a king
And one just rides and rides and rides and rides
For the girl in the swing

They race like phantoms in the belmont light
You see them follow the belmont light
They ride through places where the walls are white
Where the noble voices of women sing
A brace of thanks and silent night
And a song for the girl in the swing

Well, you just asked me do i know what love is
Well, sure i know, sure i know what love is
It's the thief of sleep, a boy and his dog
A red rubber ball, these old foolish things
A rain that falls a long, long way from home
It lives in the girl in the swing!
It lives in the girl in the swing...


8.The Three Day Man

I'm the three day man
It's three days too long
Everything is in its right place but
Something is wrong
Time is on wheels
And my legs shake
I have to live with every decision
That you make

And that doesn't mean
That i'll be your slave
It doesn't mean you're here to stay
It doesn't mean we're friends for life
You know i want you
You know that i love you
But i'll never need you anyway
I'll never need you anyway

Sixes and sevens
Oh how it rains
Sleep is a station
Life is a train
People snatch instinctively for
Whatever crutch they need
But i promise not to abuse you
If you don't love me leave

And that means
That i'll be never your slave
It means that you're not here to stay
Means that we're not friends for life
You know how i want you
You know that i love you
But i'll never need you anyway
I'll never need you anyway
Never need you anyway

And that means
That i'll be never your slave
It means you're not here to stay
Means we're not friends for life
You know how i want you
You know that i love you

But i'll never need you anyway
I'll never need you anyway
I'll never need you anyway
Never need you anyway
I'll never need you anyway
I'll never need you!